Tudor

Welcome to the list. I suspect if you're looking for an "expert" then you probably shouldn't rely on us, but if you're willing to share some of your thoughts with the list several of us would be interested. Having looked up queue / queuing theory on google it seems to be a rather varied body of work. Could you enlighten us further.

I'm intrigued by the idea of waiting lists being complex systems demonstrating things like power law scaling and can let you have some ideas about that if you wish. Any theory to describe waiting lists has to be sufficiently self-referential to include the effect that the waiting list itself has on attracting / deterring new referrals into the system.

Have you come across Braess' paradox - the idea that making one bit of a system "better" / more efficient actually upsets the balance of the system such that the overall effect is reduced efficiency. Arguably this is what the 2 week cancer referral policy has done in England, and quite possibly what short, sharp, politically driven waiting list clearing initiatives also achieve.

Chris

GP and co-listowner
--
Chris Burton, [log in to unmask] on 14/09/2002


On Fri, 13 Sep 2002 16:14:23 +0100, Tudor Codreanu wrote:
>good afternoon to the list,
>
>I hope I will find here some answers to a problem that haunts me for
>a while. I wrote an article on management of the waiting lists for
>hip replacement in our hospital using queue theory. however, as I am
>a novice at it, I wander if among you there is anybody who would get
>in touch with me on the subject for a very informal talk. We may
>even develop this further!
>
>If this is the wrong list to ask for help, please accept my
>appologies!
>
>dr tudor codreanu MSc(Med) staff emergency physician accident and
>emergency dept.
>dr gray's hospital elgin iv301sz [log in to unmask]
>